1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nail locating device which permits location of a magnetically attractive nail on a non-magnetically attractive board in a fast and convenient manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
A nail locating device is used for locating a nail that was driven into a board when removing the nail from the board. Boards used for decorating a building interior or a room place are sometimes covered with wallpaper or coated with paint such that the nails driven into the same cannot be found easily. When the boards are to be dismantled, the nails driven thereinto should be removed, and a nail locating device is thus required.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional nail locating device 10 for locating a magnetically attractive nail that was driven into a non-magnetically attractive board. The nail locating device 10 includes a transparent casing 11 made of plastic and provided with a pivot shaft 15, and an indicating rod 12 disposed within the casing 11 and having an upper end pivoted to the pivot shaft 15. The indicating rod 12 has a bottom end provided with a magnet 13. The casing 11 has front and rear sides provided with aligned marks 14 that are aligned vertically with the pivot shaft 15.
Referring to FIG. 2, when the nail locating device 10 is used to locate an iron nail that was driven into a wooden board, the casing 11 is moved on a surface of the board so that the indicating rod 12 pivots in the casing 11 in the direction of the nail due to attraction of the magnet 13 to the nail. The casing 11 is moved by the operator until the indicating rod 12 is generally perpendicular to the wooden board, indicating that the nail is located on a line that passes through the aligned marks 14. A first indicating line (A) along the aligned marks 14 is then drawn on the board by the operator. Thereafter, the casing 11 is once again moved on the surface of the board, and the aforementioned procedure is repeated until a second indicating line (B) is obtained. The first and second indicating lines (A, B) intersect at a point (C) which is the location of the nail.
Although the conventional nail locating device 10 achieves the purpose of locating a magnetically attractive nail, such as an iron nail, on a non-magnetically attractive board, such as a wooden board, it suffers from the following drawbacks: Two intersecting indicating lines must be drawn before the nail can be located, thereby resulting in a relatively inconvenient and time-consuming locating operation. In addition, a pen element and a ruler are required to enable the operator to draw the indicating lines. Moreover, the surface of the board may be damaged or stained when drawing the straight lines on the board.